Home › World Cup Lines › World Cup Articles › Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup Betting: One of the biggest longshots at the World Cup is Panama. The country has the longest odds of any nation to win their group, as many believe that the team has already reached its peak by reaching the World Cup.
This will be Panama’s first-ever World Cup, and they qualified for it in scintillating fashion. Panama needed a win at home over Costa Rica, and a United States loss to last-place Trinidad and Tobago, in order to get to Russia. The United States did suffer a stunning defeat at the hands of Trinidad and Tobago, but Panama was down 1-0 at halftime to Costa Rica. Gabriel Torres restored hopes in the 53rd with a goal, and then Ramon Torres sent the country into celebration with a great play in the 88th to lead Panama to the win.
Once every four years, the world's most popular game has its biggest tournament. The World Cup is as big as it gets all over the world, especially for the 32 countries who have earned the right to partake in this tournament. We think of the World Cup as a four-week tournament in June and July every few years, but this is actually a tournament where every FIFA team in the world has a chance to make it to the big stage.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will begin on Thursday, June 14 and run through the final on Sunday, July 15. All of the action can be seen on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2.
Panama Betting Odds
Odds on Panama to win Group G: +3831
Odds on Panama to win 2018 World Cup: +50000
Matches
Panama vs. Belgium, Monday, June 18, 2018, 11 a.m. ET, Fisht Stadium (Sochi)
Panama vs. England, Sunday, June 24, 2018, 8 a.m. ET, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium (Nizhny Novgorod)
Panama vs. Tunisia, Thursday, June 28, 2018, 2 p.m. ET, Mordovia Arena (Saransk)
Manager
Hernan Dario Gomez
History at the World Cup
This will be Panama’s first-ever World Cup, but they nearly made it to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A win over the United States would have sent them into the inter-confederation playoff, and they took a 2-1 lead into injury time. Unfortunately, they allowed two goals in the last few minutes, leading to Mexico advancing while Panama was left at home.
Player to Watch
Panama is likely to play a defensive, physical style of football. They know the uphill battle they face in a group with England and Belgium, so they are probably going to pack it in at the back and look to play for draws in their first two matches.
If Los Canaleros are going to create offense, it is likely to come from Blas Perez. Perez fits Panama’s style very well, using his size to force the issue against back lines and midfielders. He sometimes crosses the line with his play, as seen by the straight red card he was shown in a friendly against Denmark, but that’s also when he is at his best. A strict referee could hamper him more than an opposing defense.
Log into BookMaker Sportsbook and get betting odds for FIFA World Cup and Sports Articles about this and all other sporting events!
